


Post-Canon

by TimMcIlbath



Category: Life Is Strange
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Survivor Guilt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 11:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14235858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimMcIlbath/pseuds/TimMcIlbath
Summary: Max Caulfield chooses Chloe Price over an entire town, and in doing so, kills almost everyone there. How the fuck is she supposed to deal with that?





	1. Leave It Behind

_"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."_ Max rolled her eyes at the lyric, a tear falling with the movement. This is not the song she wanted to hear, especially now. She almost laughed at the irony of it all, but she couldn't bring herself to even smile. Why they were even listening to music, Max didn't know. She didn't even really remember it being turned on, or who did it. That's not even what mattered right now, and it's all Max could actually think about. Maybe, it was self-conscious. Maybe she was somehow doing it on purpose, to forget about what happened, what she did.Max Caulfield just killed over a thousand people, all for one girl. One girl who was apparently meant to die in a gross school bathroom. Max chose the selfish choice, and now, she'll pay the price.

All of Max's friends from Arcadia Bay were dead. At least, they most likely were. Apart from Chloe Price, her childhood best friend. Max reunited with her on Monday, and since then, she couldn't be happier. Even if they didn't exactly reunite on the best of terms, they were both elated to see each other. They shared some laughs, shed some tears.

Max saved Chloe from dying a few times.

Max's head hurt excessively. It throbbed, each pang hurting more with the next. She looked at the road. As the car passed the different lines, where they started and ended, Max counted. It would seem to be a coping mechanism. She looked in the mirror, thinking about the death and destruction. _If I continue thinking about it, it'll weigh me down. I can't let that happen._ Max looked at Chloe, whose eyes didn't leave the road.

***

Chloe turned the radio down. "Hey, Max, do you think we should take a break, maybe get a few snacks, or something? We've been driving for, like, two hours, and I need a coffee. I can barely keep my eyes open." Max was on the verge of falling asleep herself. The sound of someone speaking almost startled her. Max breathed.

"Yeah, sure, if you want. I could use something to eat, I guess," Max lied. In reality, she couldn't stand the thought of eating. Just talking about it made her want to throw up. Chloe looked back at the road in front of them.

"There's a rest stop in just a few miles, it should only take a few minutes." Chloe replied. Max nodded and relaxed in her seat. Two hours may seem like a lot, but there was only a little more than an hour left. But, maybe Chloe just needed a break. Her young feet may have gotten the best of her.

***

After a bit more driving, the girls made it to the rest stop. Max didn't really feel like getting up, but she did so that Chloe wouldn't think anything was wrong. Although, Chloe had to know that something was at least somewhat wrong.

"There's the rest stop!" Chloe said, somehow sounding the slightest bit happy. How anyone could feel any positive emotions at this time, baffled Max. But, then again, she was biased. "Well, I'm gonna go in and get that coffee and food." Max seriously didn't want to. She didn't want to eat, and she didn't want to see people, for fear of breaking down.

"You go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute. I wanna stretch a bit more."

"Okay, I'll be in there." Chloe walked to the door of the rest stop and went in. Max was left with only her thoughts. And the truck.

Max got out of the car a few seconds after Chloe. She stretched, somehow accidentally rewinding time. Apparently, sticking her arms up, even vertically, rewound as well. Who knew? It hurt her head. Chloe had no idea anything was different, of course.

"Well, I'm gonna go in and get that coffee and food." Chloe said.

"Um... You go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute. I wanna stretch a bit more."

"Okay, I'll be in there." Chloe nodded and walked to the door of the rest stop and went in. Max was left with only her thoughts. And the truck.

Eventually, a minute or so passed, and Max decided she should go in the rest stop. She wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible, regarding her feelings, and her mental state.

"Hey there, Maxo. I see you've decided to join me." Chloe said, grinning softly. She held a coffee, and a large sized bag of chips that looked as though they were meant to be shared.

"I thought I should at some point. Is that all we're getting?" replied Max. She looked at the chips and almost gulped. I won't be able to eat, and she'll definitely think notice that.

"Yeah. I figure we shouldn't get too much, seeing as how we'll be there in only like, an hour. Y'know, we probably didn't even really need to stop. Oh well. It was probably for the best anyway," Chloe replied. She chuckled, the first Max had heard since what seemed like years ago, something she had almost forgotten the sound of. "Well. I'm gonna go pay, and we can be on our way." Chloe smiled. "Hey, that rhymed." She laughed a quiet laugh, looked away, and continued walking toward the checkout. Max watched as she went.

  
***

  
A little bit later, Chloe came back. Max was looking at the magazines. "Hey, Max. You ready to hit the road?" Chloe asked. Max turned and looked at her.

"Yeah, all set. Those chips look pretty good, now that I think about it."

"That's good. Well, let's head out. Now that I've got that coffee, I'll be ready to drive for the next, er, hour." Chloe chuckled lightly, trying to lighten the mood. The girls walked out together. Max felt as though she could puke, and she hadn't even eaten yet.

  
***

Max and Chloe were almost there. They were headed for Seattle, Washington, the place that caused so much damage to the girls when they were younger. Max moved away to there from Arcadia when she was thirteen, pretty much breaking up the friendship that she and Chloe had. Not to mention _when_ she left, which was just after William died, and when Chloe needed Max the most. But that was then.

Soon enough, they were in the neighborhood that the Caulfield's lived in. Chloe actually dreaded meeting Max's parents again after five years. She figured it would be hard to talk to them, for some reason. She probably felt this way because she was weird, but she, in her head, made it out to be so much worse. Chloe was anxious. Maybe it was something about Vanessa...

"Hey, we're almost there," Chloe announced, in the I'm trying to sound happy, but I'm probably failing voice. She playfully poked Max in the shoulder and gave her an understanding smile that said, I'm trying.

"Yeah, I guess we are. This should be fun." Max said, some sarcasm slipping through to her words. She also knew it would be hard talking to her parents, but for different reasons. They weren't on great terms when Max went back to Arcadia. She and her mother had a fight that consisted of lots of screaming, her mother's tears, and Max trying to convince her why she wanted to go. Why she needed to go, rather.

After a bit of driving, Chloe secretly pretending to be lost, and pulling up in the wrong driveway (more than once) the girls made it to the Caulfield residence. Chloe smiled fakely, and Max just nodded. They walked up to the house.

Max opened the door. "Mom? Dad?"

"Max, Chloe! You're okay! Ryan, they're here!"


	2. What's In The Past...

"Maxine Caulfield! You are not leaving this house, just to go back to that hick town Arcadia Bay. I forbid it!" Vanessa Caulfield screamed. Max was seventeen, and she wanted to get the hell out of the place she lived now. It seemed tiny, even though the house itself was decently sized.

"No Mom, I'm going to Arcadia! I can't stay here! There's nothing here for me!"

"Maxine, honey, please! If you go to Arcadia now, you'll never fulfill your potential as the photographer I know you are!" Vanessa was fighting back tears. Max didn't have to fight. She wasn't crying.

"First of all, it's Max, never Maxine!" She figured this was obvious. "Secondly, you can't just forbid me from doing something. I'm almost eighteen, Mom, almost a legal adult! I can be a photographer anywhere! We moved here because of a promotion! It was all you, I know that now. That's not important right now. My question is, why do we have to be here for my photography career to work out?"

Vanessa could hold her tears back no longer. They began to pour, like a faucet at its highest pressure. "Maxine, darling, I'm sorry. I just want the best for you. But you won't let me give that to you!" She breathed. "You know in your heart that I'm only doing this because I love you. So if you choose to walk out that door, I won't provide the love and care that you've been getting. You will be on your own, and neither I nor your father will help you. If you're so grown up, then you can pack your bags and walk out that door, because I guess I won't be able to stop you."

"Mom, please don't say that. You know good and well that you would constantly call me, or text me, to check on me. I know you, and I know that you wouldn't just kick my behind out the door and say that I'm completely on my own!"

"Max, I'm sorry. But if you want to move out, it will be on you and only you." Vanessa sat down in a dining room chair. "I suppose we'd help you for the first few months, but after that, you'll be the adult." Max sighed, and went upstairs to her room. "Maxine, I'm sorry, dear."

Out in the living room, Ryan Caulfield, Max's father, sat on the couch, teary-eyed, listening to the fighting that he couldn't do anything about.

"That's a lie, and you know it. But you know what? It wouldn't matter to me, if you actually did what you said, because I could make it. Maybe you just don't believe in me, is that it? You don't believe I could make it on my own?" Max said, and before her mother could reply, ran up to her room.

Max flopped on her bed, landing face first. She cried, tears practically soaking her blankets and pillow. Then, an idea popped into her head. She got up and looked at her computer. She sat down in her desk chair and opened her laptop. She looked up "Blackwell Academy" on Google and the website popped up. Max clicked the link and looked around. _I've wanted to go here since I was thirteen._ She looked around the site and finally found something she could use. Max signed up for a scholarship to Blackwell Academy.


	3. ...Stays In The Past

 "Max, Chloe! You're okay! Ryan, they're here!" Vanessa shouted with glee. She ran up and hugged her daughter, then Chloe.

Ryan jogged over and smiled wide. "Girls, I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what I'd do, if... Well, you get the point." He hugged Max, then Chloe.

"I am just elated that you're here! I almost can't believe it!" Vanessa smiled. She then realized what she said, and covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers.. "Um, well, I can believe it, you know, I just, well I do believe it because I see you, but-"

"Mom, it's okay. I get it."

"Okay, well, anyway. Chloe, make yourself at home! What's ours is yours, don't forget that, okay sweetie?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Caulfield." Chloe said. Vanessa must have noticed the look.

"You can call me Vanessa, you know that. And," She started. "You can sleep in the guest bedroom. We have the bed all made up already." Chloe looked at Max, who gave her a look that said, I got this.

"Uh, mom... I don't think either of us want to sleep alone tonight, after what's happened. Y'know." Max replied. Vanessa looked at her, then Chloe.

"Well, you can sleep with Max if you want, Chloe. We have a blow-up mattress. Is that okay?" Max looked at Chloe.

"Um, yeah, sure, that'll work. Thanks, Vanessa. And you too, Mr. Caulfield." Chloe said.

"Not a problem at all!" said Ryan. "Oh, and please, call me Ryan." Max went over and hugged her parents.

"Well, I think I should show Chloe around, so she doesn't get lost. We'll see you later." Max chuckled.

"We'll call for you when dinner's ready, okay? See you two later!" Vanessa smiled.

***

A little while later, after Max finished the house tour with Chloe, they made it to Max's room. "And, here we are. My room. Boring as ever, but it's, nice."

"You still have all that stuff from your room in Arcadia. Dude, how'd you do it?"

"What, this?" Max held up a box with a few things from the girls' childhood. "It's just a few random things―stuff I just _couldn't_ get rid of, y'know. The eyepatch, a few miscellaneous pictures and doodles."

"Yeah, dude, that stuff seems so old now. All I have left is- Well, I guess, I guess I don't really have, er―I don't know." Chloe sighed. "I guess most of our stuff from back then was in the house. Except for this." Chloe reached in her jacket pocket and pulled out a photo. It was of Max and Chloe in their pirate gear. It looked like Max took the photo, holding her arm out in the form of a 'selfie.' "I don't know how I even have this anymore. I just kept it."

"Chloe, I can't believe you had that in your pocket this whole time! It seems like we took that ages ago!"

"Well, it was just one of those things I had to keep. Y'know, like you keep something that means a lot to you, right? I dunno."

"Jeez, Chloe! I wish I had more pictures! I feel terrible."

"Max, it's cool, you don't need a million pictures from a million years ago." Chloe put the picture back in her pocket and sighed. "Well, I guess you don't really have all the pictures anymore. Er, y'know, because of what happened and all. Um, I'm sorry." She had a look of extreme regret, and the feeling of being stupid.

"Chloe Price, you have nothing to be sorry for. It's me that should be apologizing. To the world. To Arcadia, and all its people. That I- that I killed. To you." Max sighed. "It's my fault. Everything is. Everything has been since Monday. None of this would have happened if I hadn't... hadn't, _saved you_." Max put a hand over her mouth and looked away from Chloe, and to the floor. She then took that same hand and lifted it to rewind. Chloe got up to stop her, but she was too late.

~Rewind~

"Max, it's cool, you don't need a million pictures from a million years ago." Chloe put the picture back in her pocket and sighed. "Well, I guess you don't really have all the pictures anymore. Er, y'know, because of what happened and all. Um, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Chloe. I understand." Max replied, feeling better about saying that.

"Oh, well, okay. If you're sure." Chloe looked at Max. "But, still. Sorry."

"Chloe, it's okay. I'm not upset or anything."

"Okay, good. Thank you." Chloe smiled softly.

"Um, you're welcome? I didn't think I needed to be thanked, but alright. Well, I think I'm gonna go take a shower. Feel free to do whatever, I guess. What's mine is yours."

"Alrighty. I'll find some way to entertain myself." Max grabbed her things and headed off.

***

Max walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She turned on the water, and undressed herself. She stepped in. The warm water was a nice change. It wasn't cold, like the rain she had stood in when she was deciding her and Chloe's futures. It's funny to think that just a few measly hours ago, she was making that decision.

Eventually, after a bit of thinking and washing, Max finished her shower. She dried off and got dressed. After, she opened the door and walked out. When she went in her room, Chloe was sitting on the desk chair, looking at her phone.

"Hey, I see you did end up finding some way to entertain yourself after all. Sorry, I know, my room's boring."

"It's cool. And yeah, I did find a way to entertain myself. But, it's about to die. I don't have a charger though. Oh well. Y'know, I'm surprised it even survived. I mean, it's kinda slow, but it's always been like that. I think." Max chuckled.

"My dad might have a spare one in the garage, or something."

"That'd be cool. Hey, I think I'm gonna shower now too."

"Okay. Except, you don't have any other clothes..."

"Umm... you're right. Uh..."

"Well, I might have a few things that would fit you. I didn't bring _everything_ when I came back to Arcadia." Max chuckled.

"Thanks. I'll check, I guess." Chloe walked over to Max's closet, and found an oversized t-shirt, and some shorts that would fit. "Um, where could I find a towel?"

"There should be some spares in the bathroom."

"Thanks. I'll be back in a bit."

"Okay. See ya later."

 

Chloe walked into the bathroom. She turned in the light and closed the door, before turning on the water. It was actually pretty easy to figure out despite what the Internet says.

Chloe undressed herself and got in. The warm water felt good, especially compared to the cold rain in the storm. The storm.

_God, Mom is... probably... dead. She's probably fucking dead. What the fuck. What the fuck?! Why the fuck did things have to be like this? What the fuck did I ever do to the world?! The world owes me, not the other fucking way around! Max sacrificed the whole goddamn town for one lousy girl. What the fuck is wrong with her?! I said it would be the right choice no matter what, but I was fucking wrong. Mom didn't deserve to die in that gross fucking diner._

_  
***_

  
Chloe finished up her shower and got out. She dressed in the oversized shirt, and left the bathroom with her things.

"Hey Max,"

"Oh, hey Chloe. Did you enjoy your shower?" Max chuckled.

"Yes, it was quite lovely. The water felt nice."

"That's good. Well, we don't have much to do."

"Uh, well, we could talk, I guess."

"About what?"

"Hell, anything at this point."

"Well, I guess this is a good time for me to say this," Max took a deep breath. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. You didn't deserve any of this, at all. I shouldn't have put you through this. I shouldn't have messed with time so much. It's my fault. I shouldn't have even come back into your life. I don't deserve you. But, if I had.. sacrificed you, well, I wouldn't be able to stand it. You're too good for all of this. I'm so goddamn selfish! I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Max started to cry, and sat back, hugging her knees. "I thought... I thought, I could, say it."

"Ssh, it's okay. It's okay." Chloe held her friend in her arms. She hugged Max tight and rubbed her back comfortingly, and they stayed like that for awhile. Max eventually stopped crying as hard. Soon, she stopped altogether. She hugged Chloe, then pulled back and smiled.

"Thank you. It's not okay, but thank you."

"Max, Chloe, dinner!"

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So, this is the first fanfic I've ever actually posted, so while criticism is appreciated, please don't be too harsh! I hope you guys like this one. It's probably unoriginal at this point, but keep in mind that I started writing this a few years ago. When LIS season 1 was still new. Also, I'd like to point out that, yes, Post-Canon is a term rather than a good title, but it's been the title since I started this, and it just works the best.


End file.
